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Australian referees appointed to 2014 Tests

The IRB has announced its list of appointments to a host of international tournaments and matches this year, with nine Australian Rugby Union-affiliated referees featuring prominently.

Amy Perrett (Sydney) will officiate the June Test between New Zealand and Canada on 10 June in Tauranga, New Zealand, as well as at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in France this August.

Earlier this year, Perrett took charge of her first Women’s Six Nations Championship and has established herself as a regular on the 2013-2014 IRB Women’s Seven World Series referees list and is delighted so many Australian referees have been recognised.

“It’s exciting to see so many referees on the Australian panel have been given the opportunity to be a part of the upcoming internationals.”

Perrett added: “The Rugby World Cup is the highest level of the game and is what every referee strives to get to, so to be a part of something so special make me very feel very proud to be given an opportunity.

“I was a little surprised by the appointment considering I only did my first Test about a month ago, but I’m hoping to use the experience I gained from that game and the Rugby Sevens World Cup last year to help prepare so I can perform to the best of my ability.”

Her counterpart Steve Walsh (based in Brisbane) has been appointed to officiate the South Africa - Wales Test at King’s Park in Durban, while Rohan Hoffmann (Brisbane) will make his Test refereeing debut for Australia when Fiji hosts Tonga in Suva the same month.

Hoffmann an ex international player of 32 test matches for Portugal, commented: “As you can imagine I am extremely thrilled to have been given this opportunity by the IRB to referee the Fiji – Tonga match in June.

“This will be my first Test representing Australia and I am absolutely positive that it would never have come if not for the constant support of everyone involved in the referee pathway program at the ARU.”

“My goal is to maintain the high standards that Australian referees have set in the past.”

Matt O’Brien (Gold Coast) and Angus Gardner (Sydney) have been selected as referees for the Junior World Cup in New Zealand in August.

George Ayoub (Sydney) and Peter Marshall (Sydney) have been selected as Television Match Officials along with James Leckie (Sydney) and Andrew Lees (Sydney) as Assistant Referees in various test matches in June and July.

Australian Rugby Union would like to congratulate all referees on their appointments for 2014.